Students sickened in locker room at Penncrest High School

MIDDLETOWN » Thirteen students were treated at area hospitals after becoming sickened by a malfunctioning ozone air purifying unit in the Penncrest High School boys’ locker room Friday night, officials said.

By Saturday evening, all had been treated and released, according to school district and fire company officials.

After the Penncrest home football game with Radnor, Penncrest students, coaches and trainers were in one of the locker rooms when several students began experiencing upper respiratory distress, according to school district officials. By that time, the visiting team and the crowds had left.

Mark Kirchgasser, chairman of Middletown Township Council and a firefighter with the Middletown Fire Company No. 1, said his company and the Rocky Run Fire Company received the call for the hazardous materials mass casualty incident at 10:26 p.m.

He said when they arrived, students were coughing, producing mucus and had watery eyes and skin irritation – symptoms of ozone exposure.

In a notification sent to parents and staff about the incident, Rose Tree Media School District officials said administrators immediately unplugged an ozone air purifying unit in the affected locker room.

“The ozone air purifying unit is on a timer, set to go off late at night,” the notification read. “We suspect that this unit malfunctioned.

“About six years ago, health officials recommended we install these units in our locker rooms,” it continued. “They are commonly used to sanitize areas where moisture is common, such as locker rooms. All the units in our schools do receive regular service, but have been unplugged while we verify that they are working properly and the timers are set to discharge in the middle of the night.”

Kirchgasser said ozone is used to eliminate traces of the MRSA virus.

“It went off,” he said of the purifying system, “when it wasn’t supposed to have gone off. I don’t know exactly the reason for that.”

Kirchgasser said students off-site were also instructed to return if they were demonstrating any symptoms. From there, 11 students were transported to hospitals – five to Riddle Hospital, three to CrozerChester Medical Center and three to Springfield Hospital.

Another two went directly to hospitals from their homes, he said.

Kirchgasser said Mike Groover, assistant chief of Rocky Run Fire Company, handled the coordination of the 10 ambulances that arrived on the scene, including ones from CrozerChester and Riddle EMS.

He said about 50 firefighters from various companies responded, as well as the Delaware County hazardous materials team and the county’s Emergency Command Post headed by county Emergency Services Director Tim Boyce.

The district thanked the emergency officials who responded and said Penncrest principal Ralph Harrison and Athletic Director Chip Olinger managed the scene and visited students in the hospital, along with Superintendent James Wigo.

“As you know, the safety and welfare of our students and staff is always our first priority,” the statement continued. “It’s great to know we are so well supported by our emergency responders. We want to thank them for such an immediate and professional response.”

It noted that the locker room was clean and had been sanitized and that a full-day basketball tournament scheduled for Saturday continued as planned.

Kirchgasser also praised all who came to the scene, which largely was comprised of volunteers.

“There’s a lot going on in a short period of time,” he said. “I think everybody did a good job ... They did a spectacular job. I’m very proud of them. The best news is that everybody is fine.”